A Toast to the Groom
by JustaNorthernGirl
Summary: A series of one shots centering around the Gilmore Girls and our favorite grumpy diner owner. *Original first chapter is being reworked, new chapter is now chapter 2*
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is set somewhere in between the original series and the revival. Sometimes a girls needs her angst. Also I have no medical knowledge so I apologize ahead of time for any inaccuracies.

As Rory hung up the phone, the color drained from her face and her stomach dropped. The only phrases she had truly understood were "Luke" and "hospital" and "you don't need to come", the last of which was of course bullshit. Her mind went into attack mode; it would take almost 3 hours to get home and her car was at a friend's house in Jersey because parking in the city is a nightmare so that would add another hour. Another hour of panic and worry and thinking of the worst possible situations. What made this timeline worse was that her mother was alone waiting for answers thinking all of the same horrible thoughts.

She had to get someone there first who would take care of things in her absence. Grandma and Grandpa were in Europe, April was on Study Abroad in South America, Jackson's million year old grandmother had died so Sookie was out of the running too. Jess! The last time she talked to Luke he had mentioned the Truncheon was looking at spaces to open a new branch in Hartford.

"Please answer, please answer, please answer," Rory begged as the phone continued to ring and she began to throw every article of clothing she could reach into a duffel bag.

"Hello?" A groggy Jess answered.

"Were you sleeping? It's 6 pm, why the hell are you sleeping?"

"I was up all night writing and didn't get much sleep. Now, what did I do deserve this cheery and surprising call from my favorite step-cousin?" Jess laughed as he heard her groan from the other end of the line.

"Ugh, gross! I wish you would stop calling me that! But that's not why I called," Rory took a breath, knowing that for all of their gruffness Jess and Luke did care very deeply for each other. "Jess, Luke is in the hospital."

"What hospital?" Jess' heart had dropped just as instantly Rory's had.

"St. Francis, in Hartford. Are you still close by? When I talked to Luke a few weeks ago he said you were in the area and I am killing myself getting there but my mom is all alone and freaking out and god Jess, I don't know she'd do without him, what I'd do without him!" Rory's rambling had led to panic and the scenarios she had attempted to keep at bay were now flooding her mind with dread.

"Rory slow down, I'm still here. Do you know what happened?" Jess was bracing himself for the worst, as manic as they could be sometimes in reality it took a lot to rattle the Gilmore girls.

"Something about the diner and Taylor, I'm not really sure. Mom just said he's in surgery, again for what I don't know. She wasn't exact in an expansive, story telling mood. Look, I should finish packing and get to my car, call me when you know something. And Jess?"

"Yea," Jess responded rubbing his temple, trying to process her brief and uninformative explanation.

"Thank you. He'd want you to be there," she waited for a response, knowing gratitude and sentimentality, however deserved made him uncomfortable.

"Yea. I'll call you later. Drive safe, ok?" Predictably, he ignored her, Rory snorted in return.

"Ok. Bye," she quickly threw another pair of underwear into her bag, grabbed a jacket and ran out the door.

—

Jess rushed into the emergency room, scanning the waiting area for Lorelai. As close as he'd been to his former home he hadn't seen much of his de facto Aunt, which until this moment he'd thought was for the best. And just when he was thinking he had forgotten what she looked like,

"Jess?"

He turned and saw the woman his uncle had been in love with for as long as he had known her and he suspected well before. She must have come to the hospital straight from work because for the most part she looked her normal professional self despite her tear stained cheeks and hair pulled into a haphazard bun. The last of which Jess only noticed due to the fact that she had wrapped him in a tight hug the moment he turned around.

Once he had gotten over the shock of it, his arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders and he relaxed slightly in her embrace.

"How's he doing?" He asked, bracing himself for the worst.

"He's in surgery. They said it'll be few more hours," Lorelai released him and wiped the remaining moisture from her face using a crumpled tissue. "Did Rory explain what happened?"

Jess shook his head, "She was pretty much only good for the highlights, a quick panic and a demand that I get my ass over here."

Lorelai laughed dryly as both sat down in the plastic waiting room chairs, "Yea we're not too bright when we're in panic mode, that's what we have Luke for," her chin quivered but she continued. "He was in the diner during the lunch rush and it was totally packed. Then Taylor came in and started complaining about his lease and next thing I know Miss Patty is calling me saying that one second he was arguing with Taylor, the next he's grabbing his arm and collapsing on the ground."

While Lorelai caught her breath, Jess asked tentatively, "Was it his heart?"

Nodding slowly, she continued, "Yea, same thing that killed his Dad. They said he's lucky this is his first 'episode' otherwise surgery wouldn't have even been an option."

They both had to sit in silence for a while after that revelation. Jess never knew his grandfather but the way Luke talked about him he had the same obsessive need to care for those around him that Luke did. A quality Jess respected (and needed) more and more the older he got.

"He is so proud of you."

Jess looked up and where before Lorelai was having a hard time looking anywhere but her shoes, she was now looking him directly in the eye, a soft smile plastering her face.

Jess scoffed, "What?"

"I know I don't say this enough but you've come a long way form that little punk who stole a beer out of my fridge and my daughter's heart while you were at it," she looked at the floor again seeming to remember the person she really needed there. "Luke barely reads anything other than the occasional airport dad novel but every once in a while I catch him reading your book again and it's just about the sweetest thing I've ever seen."

Jess just shook his head in response, "This coming from the woman who not that long ago didn't want me anywhere near Luke or her daughter ever again."

"I'm sorry about that. You had hurt Rory before and Luke when you came back to get the car. I tend to get a little over protective when it comes to the people I love," she continued without missing a beat. "You know seeing him with you and Rory were some of the first moments I fell for him in the first place. He refused to see the worst in either of you from the very beginning."

"Ok now you're just being delusional. I specifically remember an incident involving my darling uncle pushing him into a large body of water less than a week after my arrival," Jess responded.

"Don't get me wrong he wanted to drown you in that lake everyday for that first month but I think in the back of his mind he always knew you were going to be ok," her voice wavered slightly but followed through to the end.

"He's going to be ok too, you know?" Jess said this for himself as much as for her.

"I don't know what I'll do if he's not," she fidgeted in her seat at the thought. "I mean, I was a single mom for 22 years I'd survive in all of the ways necessary to sustain life but there's something about him that has always made me feel calm, at rest. I never really had that before him."

"Me either," Jess admitted quietly.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows and nodded, completely silent for the first time since his arrival. She knew and loved Liz but having her as a mom couldn't have made for the easiest childhood. Between the husbands, the boyfriends, the drugs and Liz's general tendency to ignore reality it's a wonder Jess survived to adolescence at all. At this moment, Lorelai turned her head and really looked at the young man sitting next to her. His head was resting in hands like the weary traveler he was, his dark hair was wildly disheveled and his clothes seemed to have been hastily chosen as she noticed his usual leather jacket had been traded in for an old sweatshirt that barely fit him.

Hesitantly, she reached her hand over to his back and began to draw her hand in tight circles, willing away the anxiety that comes from knowing the only constant person in your life was in mortal danger. At first, he looked up at her with raised eyebrows but eventually the soothing motion had calmed them both and their eyes began to droop from both physical and emotional exhaustion.

—

By the time Rory finally made her way into the waiting room over two hours later she stumbled upon a most unexpected sight. Collapsed into two of the most uncomfortable chairs she'd ever seen were her mom and Jess. Lorelai's head and arm were resting behind Jess whose body was slumped forward, head leaning so far forward it nearly touched his knees. Her heart all but melted right there on the waiting room floor.

She made her way over to them, kneeling in front of her mother's limp form. Close up she could see the tear tracks on her cheeks and the redness of her nose from hours of panic and worry. Rory hated that she had gone through this alone, much less that she had to go through it all. As gently as she could she nudged Lorelai awake with a quick shake of her knee.

"Mom, wake up."

Lorelai startled awake and stared blankly at her daughter for a moment before pulling her into her arms as quickly and as tightly as possible. Rory squeezed back in response.

"How's our guy?" Rory mumbled into her mother's shoulder.

Abruptly, Lorelai let Rory go and stood up, "Oh my god, what time is it? What if he's out of surgery? What if he woke up all alone?"

Rory could see the familiar panic on her face and had to step in, "Let's find the doctor, maybe he's not even out yet."

"Oh god I didn't even think about that, what if something went wrong?"

Placing a reassuring hand on Lorelai's arm, Rory looked around for someone official, "I'm sure they would have woken you up if anything urgent happened, speaking of which should we wake Jess up?"

They both looked down at the snoring young man beside them.

With a soft and admiring smile Lorelai replied, "Let's let him rest until we know something."

Rory nodded in agreement, finally spotting a nurse coming out of the surgical wing.

Catching up with the nurse in question, Rory asked, "Excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you, but could you tell us if Luke Danes is still in surgery?"

"Are you a relative?" The nurse seemed nice but was clearly held back by this necessary, albeit inconvenient, professional protocol.

"I'm his step-daughter," Rory replied quickly, not wanting the undefinable nature of their relationship to deter her or her mom from seeing the most important man in their life.

With a kind and patient smile, the nurse replied, "Well then it's no problem, dear. I was actually in on Mr. Danes' procedure and it went very well. I believe the doctor is giving him a quick post-op exam at the moment but he's in recovery room 119 if you'd like to see him."

"I would, thank you very much," she turned to her mom as the nurse walked away. Lorelai had clearly been listening in and was frantically looking around for the designated room number. Rory took both of her mom's hands and took them in her own, looking her directly in the eye, "Let's go see Luke then we can come back and get Jess, ok? He's gonna be ok mom. He is."

Lorelai nodded quickly, rushing with her daughter in the direction of her partner's recovery room.

As they reached his doorway and looked inside, her breath caught in her throat. Because there he was, her guy, her rock, her diner boy hooked up to more machines than she could count, skin paler than she'd ever seen it but he was breathing and she wasn't sure she'd ever loved him more.

"Mrs. Danes?" The doctor must have noticed their presence and Lorelai was too tired to correct him.

"Yes," she shook his hand and moved to sit next to bed, grabbing Luke's hand on instinct.

As Rory moved to sit next to her mom, the doctor continued the examination, "We were able to repair both tears to the major artery, the fact that there were two is what made for such a long and complicated surgery but I'm happy to say that with a check on his stress levels and several dietary restrictions your husband will recover very nicely over the next couple of months."

Lorelai nodded blankly as the doctor spoke but continued to stare at Luke. When they walked in she hadn't noticed the way they'd swept his hair back, as they'd gotten older he obviously had less and less and it had begun to gray around the edges. Seeing it like this still reminded her of the first time she dared to touch it, all those years ago placing that blue cap on his head.

"His hat," Lorelai mumbled under breath.

Rory leaned towards her mother, obviously concerned, "Mom, what did you say?"

"He um, he needs his hat, he never goes anywhere without it. He must have been wearing it when they brought him in but I don't remember seeing it. I'll go ask the nurse, maybe she saw, excuse me," Lorelai moved from her place beside Luke to hurry past Rory and into the hallway.

She was turning in circles, unsure of who to ask which had given Rory time to make her way beside her.

"Mom, what's going on? Are you ok?" She hadn't seen her mom this worked up since her and Luke broke up the first time.

Lorelai finally stopped moving, her lips were pursed and her arms were wrapped around her middle, a sure fire sign that she was trying not to cry.

"We wasted so much time, I knew all those years ago that he was the one. I knew that he would always be there for us, that he would take care of you in any way he could and still I waited."

"It wasn't the time yet, you had to go through all of those things with Max and Dad and raising me!" As much as Rory hated it, she knew she was a factor in the period of time during which her mother didn't seriously date anyone for fear of somehow negatively effecting her.

Lorelai shook her head, "I cheated on him Rory, I walked away, I gave up."

"Mom that's crazy, he messed up too but he loves you so much and he's here now. That's what matters," Rory looked at her mom pleadingly, "You both still have so much time to be together."

"He just looked so small in there. It reminded me of that first heart attack your Grandpa had when you were in High School and I thought my god, are we there already? When we first got together we talked about having kids, about our future but then everything happened with the broken off engagement and then your Dad came back into the picture and then we were so happy to just find each other again that neither of us wanted to rock the boat and now it's been years and we missed the window, we missed our middle."

Rory's heart broke for her mom, it broke for all of the missed opportunities her existence caused; college, career, marriage, babies. And yet...

"Mom you and Luke have an amazing life together. You have kids who love you, a community that supports you, businesses that wouldn't have lasted as long or as successfully as they have if you didn't have each other, " Rory had to continue because Lorelai had looked up and seemed to be paying attention for the first time since she arrived. "And you know what? Even though you both made a few missteps, took a few wrong turns, you found the love of your life, a partner, a parent to your kid."

Rory crossed to the other side of the hall and wrapped her mom into a tight hug.

"I love you kid, did you know that?" Lorelai whispered into her daughter's hair.

"I had a feeling," Rory responded, letting go slowly. "Why don't I go find Jess and you can have some alone time with Luke?"

Lorelai wiped her face uselessly and nodded, "Thanks, hon."

As Rory turned and walked down the hall, Lorelai took a deep breath and made her way back into room 119. The doctor had left either because he had finished his exam or it's possible he may have been trying to escape from his patient's crazy relatives. As she moved to stand next to the bed, she could see his eyes begin to twitch and she quickly leaned in.

"Luke, are you awake?"

He responded with a groan and Lorelai released a breath she didn't realize she was holding. She brushed his hair away from his face with a gentle stroke of her hand.

"Hey babe, how ya feeling?" She watched his face closely as she sat down on the edge of the bed, attempting to detect any pain he might be in.

"Tired," he groaned, barely above a whisper.

Lorelai nodded and stroked his arm with the back of her hand, "Go back to sleep, I'll be here when you wake up."

"Promise?" He whispered, smiling lightly.

Her own smile at the sound of teasing voice was entirely involuntary, she nodded again and said in her sternest voice, "As long you promise we won't be back here for a very long time."

"I promise, come here," he lifted the arm on his good side, allowing her to slip in beside him.

As she laid on her side next to him, careful not to pull any wires or tubes, she listened to the constant beating of his heart, "Hey Luke?"

"Hmmm."

"You're not allowed to die, ok?"

"Hmmm."

She lifter her head, indignant, "Luke Danes, did you hear me?"

"No dying, got it," he used what little strength he had to pull her closer and kiss the top of her head.

"Good," she rested her head on his arm once again.

As Luke drifted to sleep, Lorelai thought of their life together, of Rory and Jess and April, of their blue house with a huppah in the front yard. She took a deep breath and thought even after being in the hospital for hours he still smelled like home, like coffee from the diner, like warm flannel just out of the dryer. As she began to drift off herself, she knew that for all of the memories they'd made and all of the roots they'd already planted, they had a long way to go and with any luck decades more of this man teasing her as they fell asleep in each other's arms.


	2. Chapter 2

And Again

A/N: First of all thank you for all of the sweet, thoughtful responses, you're all amazing! Second, I'd be happy to take any prompts you'd like to send my way. I may not respond to them super quickly but be patient and I'll try to get them out as soon as I can. Also this is post-AYITL so beware of spoilers.

For 10 o'clock on a Saturday morning the diner was predictably busy with locals and tourists alike making weekend plans, eating pancakes and drowning in the best coffee on the east coast. Lorelai and Rory Gilmore were no exceptions as both had towering stacks of flapjacks on their plates and warm mugs in their hands, Lorelai's contained her usual brew of coffee so strong it could power the energizer bunny for days while Luke had relegated Rory to herbal tea due to her now late third trimester pregnancy. Her large belly distancing her from both the food on her plate and the to-do list sitting on the table, she had to crane her neck to see the only two items left at the bottom of the page.

"What are you up to today?" Lorelai asked as she flipped through one of Rory's parenting magazines. "Did you find that boy in a bubble worthy crib you were looking for?"

Rory glared but responded none the less, "Yes I did, I thought we could put it together while we "Godfather" it up this weekend."

"Oh we should definitely tell little what's-his-name we were building his crib while Sonny got turned into a lawn sprinkler."

"Please don't scare my child with violent imagery before I'm ready to share it with him voluntarily," she unconsciously runs a hand along her belly as though protecting her unborn child from his grandmother's corrupting influences.

"Suit yourself, there are some things as grandparents Luke and I are obligated to share with him, violent movies you disapprove of is one of them," Lorelai then decided to emphasize her point by gesturing to the blur of flannel and denim that was her husband.

This reminded Rory of the penultimate item on her list, in all caps and underlined profusely it read, LUKE'S CHAPTER. Her mom noticed her silence and stole a glance at the list for herself.

"Oh hon, just talk to him. He wants to help and you have been putting this off for way too long," Lorelai rolled her eyes as she made a large dent in the seemingly endless pancakes in front of her.

"I don't want to bother him. He's been so great the entire pregnancy; making bookshelves for the nursery, convincing me to tell Logan, hell he flat out gave me his old apartment rent-free. And now I'm gonna say 'hey wanna tell me about your very painful past with my mother?'"

"There's been some good stuff too! And he loved watching you grow up, he was probably the first guy I dated who I wasn't nervous introducing to you," Lorelai knew they'd had some rough patches but she was grateful for their journey and the life they'd built together.

Rory turned and watched her step-father for a few moments. He was simultaneously taking orders, clearing the table and pouring fresh coffee all at once. He had been their superhero for as long as she could remember and using his past personal experiences for her own gain didn't seem like the right way to repay a man who didn't let many people into his life to begin with.

"Alright, you're going to work, I'm going to talk to Luke and we'll all do dinner at home tonight," Rory said this more for herself than her Mom but Lorelai nodded along nonetheless.

"I'll see you at home," and with that she quickly squeezed Rory's shoulder, waved to her love and was out the door in a flash.

As Lorelai left, Rory took a deep breath and leveraged her inconveniently wide body toward the counter.

"Hey Luke," Rory asked as she approached the cash register.

"You're not going to try and pay, are you? I think it's been at least a decade since either of you paid to eat here," Luke said with a grin as he opened the drawer of cash and began to count dollar bills.

"Oh I wouldn't dare! Even if I did I'd just do it like Jess: leave an envelope of cash in the store room and bolt," she knew Jess had been doing this for years and because it was cash and not a check Luke had not choice but to keep the money.

"Yea he thinks he's pretty clever," Luke looked up for a moment to see the nervous look on his step-daughter's face. "What's up, kid?"

She was having as much trouble making eye contact as she was deciding how best to begin, "Well as you're probably aware, I'm almost done with the beginning stages of my book. You know, gathering stories, compiling them into chapters, deciding how to frame the timeline, that sort of thing."

"Yea I think your mom mentioned something about that," Luke honestly had no idea where this was headed.

"Right so I've been trying to gather some other perspectives as my early memories are fairly foggy and I don't want to print "alternative facts" or anything but I know those tough bits a big part of our story so I wanted to get every detail just right and..."

"Rory," He had to interrupt her ramblings at some point.

"I'd like to interview you," she took in his shocked expression with equal mixtures of hope and fear.

On the other side of the counter Luke was likewise conflicted. On one hand he was honored to be considered such an essential part of their story, they had been the center of his world for a long time so he couldn't possibly imagine what he had offered them except free maintenance and more coffee than any two humans should be able to costume in a lifetime. On the other hand he didn't like to think about the more painful aspects of his time with the Gilmore girls, particularly the times he almost lost them. But looking into those Bambi eyes he knew he didn't have a choice, those eyes were the same reason he had attended a caterpillar's funeral over 20 years ago. It was frightening to know they hadn't lost their effectiveness over the years.

"Ok," Luke finally responded.

"Really?" As Luke saw the smile that split across her face the minute she registered his answer, he knew it would be worth it, however difficult it may be.

"Yea, no problem. When do you need me?" He couldn't help but grin in response to her obvious joy at his response.

"Can you meet me upstairs around 2? The apartment's a mess but all of my notes are up there and I'm afraid if I move them I'll lose track. This pregnancy brain is really throwing me for a loop," in reality, the gears in Rory's brain were already turning.

Luke chuckled and began wiping down the counter, "I'll see you then, be careful going up those stairs and text me if you need anything. I don't want you making extra trips because you're too stubborn to say you need help."

"I will, grandpa," Rory yelled back, teasing as she hustled as quickly as she could behind the curtain and up the stairs.

—-–—-—–—-—

Rory spent the entirety of the next 4 hours sifting through papers, photo albums and notes on her laptop trying to decide the best direction for this interview. In the course of writing this book she had been confronted with uncomfortable conversations before but there was something about the unpredictability of this one that made her uneasy. At least with her Dad and Grandma she had an idea of what she was getting into; the disappointments and failings, the missed opportunities and regrets. But with Luke there were large chunks of time either she and Luke didn't see each other or she had no idea what was going through his head at the time.

Living in his old apartment and making it her own had led her to a few discoveries. One afternoon she was clearing out the corner that had once belonged to Jess and found an old photo album stuffed in a nightstand. It contained pictures spanning the time between Luke's childhood to his high school jock days all the way to his wedding less than a year ago. The images were few and far between but each one said multitudes about the man who kept them.

As she looked up from her writing desk and the chaotic space around her, it was hard to imagine this being the same room she had kissed Jess on all those lazy afternoons of her youth (though it still made her blush) and the same place she had spent crying in the days following the discovery that she was pregnant when Luke had given her the keys without a second thought. She had painted and rearranged and redecorated to the point where it was nearly unrecognizable but more like home than any other place she'd lived in a long time. Foot steps echoed down the hall and Rory braced herself as Luke turned the handle and gently knocked on the door.

"You ready for me?" Luke as he poked his head around the corner.

"Yea come on in," Rory got up and moved around the desk to the center of the room.

"Wow the place looks nice," Luke said admiringly as he moved into the apartment slowly. "In fact I think you did more in 8 months than I did the entire 20 plus years I had it."

"It really didn't take much, I even kept your curtains," she responded pointing to the windows by the kitchen.

Luke smiled slightly at the observation, "My mom actually picked those out, once my Dad actually cleared the place out to make an office she wanted it to feel more like home"

"I'm not sure I've ever heard you talk about your mom, what was she like?" Rory sat in a chair with her notepad out as looked continued to wander the room.

"She was a lot like Liz in some ways without all of the self-destructive addictions and behaviors. She was warm and kind but spontaneous too, she used to wake us up in the middle of the night just to look at the moon," Luke's face involuntarily spread into a grin at the memory. "But we were just kids when she died, I was 12 and Liz was 10."

Rory stomach ached at the thought of Luke having to bare the weight of that at so young an age, "that must have been horrible."

Luke nodded solemnly, "It was hard for all of us but it just effected Liz more, she was never the same after that. She barely finished high school, ran away, got married and had Jess all by 18."

"Wow," she knew from Jess that Liz wasn't the most stable human being in the world but something about her youth surprised Rory more than anything and she had a realization, "is that what made you take pity on us? Because Liz was so young when she had Jess."

Luke furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head slightly, "First of all there was no pity involved and no actually, I hardly saw Jess when he was little so it didn't cross my mind much except when she'd call and ask for money. You were the first kid I was even slightly comfortable spending time with."

This made Rory pause for a moment from the vicious scribbling she'd been writing in her notepad, she looked up and smiled, "Really? I guess having you around was just so normal for me I never really thought about it."

Luke shrugged, "Well you were always such an easy kid, you snuck in under the radar and before I knew it I was wrapped around both you and your Mom's fingers."

He said this in such a matter of fact way, it almost made her tear up though admittedly she was crying a lot more lately due to an increase of hormones rushing though her body. She set her notebook down and smiled through her unshed tears.

"Look, I know I gave that toast at the wedding so you know how much I love and appreciate you but I just wanted to say how glad I am that you and Mom worked everything out. When my Mom and Dad got married I know I was supposed to be happy but it just felt like the wrong wedding. And then I couldn't really come see you because I thought it would just hurt you more but I missed you and it felt so wrong not having you in my life."

Luke could see how guilty she was feeling and literally put a hand up to stop her there, "You can always come see me. No matter what's going on between your mom and me. I will always be here for you, you know that right?"

"I know, it was just different," Rory took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. "I guess I'm just trying to say I'm glad you stuck around."

This caused Luke to smile but he was still slightly confused, "Is that why you wanted to talk to me? To apologize?"

"Not at all. The thing is as much as I love my mom, she's always dealt with tough issues by glossing over the hard parts and you were there for those tough times when we first got the house and had no money whatsoever. And then there's the personal stuff with the two of you: like when Jess and I got in that accident and you didn't talk to each other for months, she never explained why. And I'm not sure if she was protecting you or herself so I was hoping you could fill in some gaps for me," Rory felt winded just getting it all out but in some ways she hadn't been able to articulate for herself why she needed to talk to him so badly, she just knew that she did.

Luke raised his eyebrows but nodded in understanding and said quietly, "My dad used to do that too. In the end, by the time he told us he was sick it was too late and there was nothing we could do."

Once again, that aching feeling of empathy washed over her, "He was trying to protect you. From what you've told me, the way you both take care of the people in your life, you sound a lot alike."

Coming from Rory, this was possibly the best compliment he'd ever received, "I hope so. You know I always thought if I ever had kids, I hoped they'd be as proud to have me as I was to have my dad."

"We are," she said this without pause or hesitation. "Proud that is."

Luke looked down at her wide eyed. He knew he was a father figure in Rory's life but for her to acknowledge it like this was almost more than he could bear. Rory looked back at him with that patented Lorelai Gilmore stubbornness as though challenged him to disagree. As though reading his mind, she kicked the other chair at the kitchen table with her foot as a not so subtle suggestion that he join her.

"Get comfortable Mr. Danes we've got a lot of ground to cover," she stated as he joined her at the table, both grinning like two children sharing a secret. "What exactly took you so long to marry my Mom?"

"Oh that's easy, that was just me being an idiot," Luke continued down the path that led him to the love of his life and the daughter he now called his own.

—-—-—–—-—-—

As Lorelai set the table in her kitchen with the appropriate number of plates and silverware for her small but growing family she had to admit that though she had encouraged her daughter this morning she was nervous to see what Luke had said when they spoke this afternoon. She was confident in how much they'd grown over the last year and of course she had always trusted Luke and Rory's relationship even when theirs was so fractured. Firm in her belief that there was nothing to be concerned about she still couldn't shake that false uneasy feeling. Ultimately she didn't have time to ponder the thought for long as her husband walked though the door interrupting her reverie.

"Lucy, I'm home," Lorelai called in an effected accent.

Luke's bemused expression softened as she gave his wife a quick peck on the lips in greeting as Rory dropped the bags from the diner and pulled out her notepad, "aren't I supposed to be the one who says that?"

"Well yes but your Ricky Ricardo just isn't up to snuff, I'm afraid. So I, the wife must assume that responsibility, I can only hope your Lucy is better than mine otherwise I'm doing both parts and that just gets confusing," she said all of this with a tilted head and a grin.

"Remind me again why I married you," Luke relied shaking his head.

"Why my vast fortune and stately manner, of course!" She responded gesturing to the mess of a kitchen surrounding them.

"Ah, right," Luke wrapped his arm around her waist and gave her a far less chaste kiss than the one just moments before, possibly lingering longer than the presence of her daughter should allow.

Subsequently, Rory interrupted with a not-so-subtle cough, "I thought this was supposed to happen less once you're married?"

"Not the case, dear daughter, we are still technically newlyweds meaning we should be getting busy on every surface of the house right about now but as you are here we shall refrain," Lorelai tried to keep the mock serious expression on her face but didn't last long as a horrified expression crossed over her daughter's face.

"That and we're way too old to be trying," Luke added, handing his wife a beer.

"Here, here!" Lorelai exclaimed, clinking glasses.

The entire exchange warranted only a bemused shake of the head from Rory who stood up from the table slowly, "on that note I am going to the bathroom for the millionth time this evening and then I say we relocate to the couch for burgers and 'Pride and Prejudice'."

"Firth or the other one?" Lorelai yelled at her daughter's retreating form.

"You choose!" Rory replied before closing the bathroom door.

Luke and Lorelai began reshuffling the dinnerware into piles for transport, stacking bags on top of plates.

"So how'd it go this afternoon? You both seemed to have survived without injury," Lorelai asked as she gathered ketchup packets from the take-out drawer.

"It was fine, it was most we'd gotten to talk in a while and I think she got what she needed," Luke felt flustered all of a sudden, decades with this woman and sharing his feelings with anyone was still a struggle at times. "We both got some things off our chest that I think needed for be shared and I don't know, I'm glad she asked."

This made Lorelai smile, that reserved 'Luke's being a sweetheart smile' and replied, "I'm so glad, we'll talk more about it later but I'm just happy you guys are good. We love you, Lucas Danes."

With that she kissed his cheek, leaving a soft grin on his face as he began to gather the remaining objects. As he moved to grab the plates, he glanced at Rory's list and nearly dropped everything when he read the final item.

Below a crossed out "Luke's Chapter" was another completed task, "Choose name" and scribbled next to it in the neatest cursive he'd ever seen was: William Richard Gilmore. For good measure she'd written smaller versions of it in the margins, possibly to see how it looked or to find out how natural the feeling of writing it came to her but it was the finality of it that caused goosebumps to pop up on Luke's arm. He had heard her and her mother discussing other options but Rory had never reacted positively to any of them, there were no other names listed and this one was circled in red pen with small dashes lining the outside of it.

Maybe it was because Luke and Lorelai never had children of their own and Luke obviously had no idea April even existed until later but there was something in naming a child that gave one a connection to it. And there was his father's name with Gilmore attached at the end, a sight he never thought he'd see. His heart swelled and he wanted to rush in and thank Rory right away but something held him back. She probably hadn't planned on him finding out like this, it was even possible she wasn't quite certain yet so he waited. But just basking in the knowledge that in some small way he was theirs and they were his would give him the strength to wait for as long as she needed.


End file.
